With the recent success of songs such as Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” and Beyoncé’s charitable collaboration with J Balvin for the remix of “Mi Gente,” there has been a new light shed on Latin music, with the growing wave of the evolving Latin trap sound drawing more and more fans from all over the world.

But according to Joel Muñoz, of Jowell y Randy, the road to gaining crossover appeal wasn’t an easy one.

“A lot of people think it just started this year with ‘Despacito’ and that [was it], ya know,” Jowell said. “Daddy Yankee comes out with ‘Despacito’ and he’s been in the game for 25 years, but people don’t know all the effort we had to go through at the start of this.”

Jowell y Randy / LA x LOVE LIVE

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With the ever-evolving advancements of hip-hop, there is no surprise to see subgenres of the culture evolving as well. For more than a decade, Reggaeton has been leading the sound when it comes to the fusion of Spanish music and hip-hop, but recently a fresh advancement has emerged. They call it Latin trap.

Luis Fonsi / LA x LOVE LIVE

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“Latin music has always been big, it’s just that now people that are not used to listening to it are all of a sudden like, you know what? We like this,” Luis Fonsi added.

We caught up with some leading artists of the sound, including Farina, J Balvin, Luis Fonsi and Jowell y Randy, to discuss the new crossover appeal of Latin music and struggles that come with becoming celebrated in the mainstream.